{"id":479,"date":"2026-05-21T17:05:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=479"},"modified":"2026-05-21T17:05:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:05:49","slug":"legalize-marijuana-in-nc-sure-but-we-need-to-save-hemp-first-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=479","title":{"rendered":"Legalize marijuana in NC? Sure. But we need to save hemp first | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, Governor Josh Stein endorsed his Advisory Council on Cannabis\u2019s recommendation<\/a> to create a regulated adult-use marijuana market in North Carolina. The governor called the current situation \u201cthe wild west\u201d \u2014 and he\u2019s not wrong. But what he, and the council, keep glossing over is that there are thousands of legitimate businesses, already serving North Carolinians, and begging for the regulation nobody will give them.<\/p>\n

Read more Avelo Airlines extends 8 flights through the end of the year at Concord airport<\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp retailers want to be clear: we support regulation. But right now, the conversation happening in Raleigh is putting the cart before the horse, and in doing so risks destroying an already established billion-dollar industry.<\/p>\n

The focus on cannabis legalization generally ignores that North Carolina already has a functioning cannabis-adjacent industry. It\u2019s the hemp industry. According to the council\u2019s own interim report, it\u2019s worth approximately $1 billion in this state alone. North Carolina ranks 8th nationally in hemp acreage. There are an estimated 10,000 businesses across the state \u2014 shops like mine \u2014 selling tested, properly labeled, and age gated hemp-derived cannabinoid products every single day. Real businesses. Real employees. Real taxpayers. And they\u2019re operating on borrowed time.<\/p>\n

While the federal government recently announced rescheduling of medical cannabis, the federal Continuing Appropriations Act, signed in November 2025, effectively banning nearly all hemp-derived products starting November 2026, just seven months from now. The council\u2019s own report acknowledges this deadline. Meanwhile, the focus in Raleigh seems to have shifted to a longer-term vision of a full cannabis market, which, even if legislation passed tomorrow, would realistically take two to three years to implement. The hemp industry, which is already generating revenue, paying state taxes, and employing people, faces an existential cliff with no safety net in sight.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s interim report does a thorough job cataloging what\u2019s problematic, including no age verification requirements, no mandatory labeling, no testing standards, or no licensing framework. I agree with every word of that. Responsible hemp operators want<\/i> to be regulated. We\u2019ve been asking for a clear, fair regulatory framework for years, because the absence of rules just protects bad actors instead of the many good ones.<\/p>\n

But instead of fixing what\u2019s broken in the market that already exists, for now, the council seems focused on a leap straight to a full adult-use cannabis recommendation. The final report isn\u2019t due until December 2026, but the hemp ban hits in November 2026. The math just does not work, and we are headed towards a conundrum where consumers will be forced into the illicit markets at record levels unless lawmakers address this inconsistency.<\/p>\n

The News & Observer reported that North Carolina residents spent an estimated $3 billion on illegal marijuana<\/a> in 2022 alone, the second-largest illicit cannabis market in the country. Banning hemp won\u2019t shrink that market. It will expand it, pushing more consumers toward unregulated products and increasing the very risks lawmakers say they want to address.<\/p>\n

Read more Here\u2019s how Palisades plans to become the next NC prep football power from Charlotte<\/a><\/p>\n

What North Carolina needs right now is a clear regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Senate Bill 265 has been the vehicle for exactly this kind of sensible reform, and deserves to be passed and protected, not sidelined while Raleigh debates a longer-horizon cannabis future that is years away from reality.<\/p>\n

Legalize cannabis eventually? Absolutely! At least 63% of North Carolinians support it, according to the council\u2019s own polling. Build a regulated adult-use market with equity provisions and expungement? Do it right. But don\u2019t let the ambition of what we want to build in three years become the reason we let a billion-dollar, job-creating industry collapse in the next seven months – while leaving consumers with nowhere to turn but the streets.<\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s hemp businesses aren\u2019t the obstacle to cannabis progress. We\u2019re the proof of concept. The infrastructure is here. The consumer demand is here. The willingness to operate responsibly under sensible rules is here. All that\u2019s missing is the political will to acknowledge that what\u2019s already working deserves to survive while the bigger picture gets sorted out.<\/p>\n

The wild west needs law and order. The answer isn\u2019t to burn down the town and start over.<\/p>\n

Chris Karazin is the Founder and CEO of Carolindica, a hemp retailer operating in North Carolina.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more NASCAR star Kyle Busch hospitalized ahead of Charlotte\u2019s big race. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Banning hemp won\u2019t shrink the cannabis market. It will expand it, pushing more consumers toward unregulated products and increasing the very risks lawmakers say they want to address.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nLegalize marijuana in NC? Sure. 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